This week, the Labor Department provided further evidence that the job market is still booming. It reported that only 1.38 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment benefits, the fewest since 1970. And it said that employers posted a record-high 11.5 million job openings in March and that layoffs remained well below pre-pandemic levels.
For all the sparkling signs of a healthy labor market, it's unclear how much longer the hiring surge will last. On Wednesday, In the meantime, with many industries slowed by worker shortages, companies have been jacking up pay to try to attract job applicants and retain their existing employees: Hourly wages rose 5.6% in March from a year earlier — the third-largest monthly jump in Labor Department records dating to 2007.